Replication
by wirenoose
Summary: He's never understood why Tobio likes his work, it's all replication, imitation, it's not like he's created something new. It's a good skill, he'll admit as much, but it's not like he could turn this into an upstanding career.


A thief and art forger AU because why not

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Kei rolls his shoulders and cracks his neck, easing back to rest his weight on his hands. He's been in his studio for the past couple days, surviving off water bottles and granola bars. He's fairly certain that Tobio has left him food by the door but he hasn't moved much since he started this last project.

All that's left to do is let it dry.

His whole body cracks and groans as he stands up, stretching his hands toward the ceiling.

He's not sure what time it is, the windows in his studio are blocked off at his own doing. The only thing he knows for certain at the moment is that he's very hungry. All the same, he takes the time to clean his hands, scrubbing at the paint and scratching under his nails. He manages to get most of it, but gives up after that point, skin pink and numb as he dries off.

Slipping on his glasses, Kei leaves the studio, unsurprised to find the hall lights on. It's a habit Kei won't make Tobio break, despite their electric bill.

"Tobio?" he calls around a yawn.

There's no response, which means Tobio is likely in the kitchen, either passed out or deep in his own work. If he's not then he's in their room, already asleep, but Kei doubts it.

Surprise, surprise, Tobio's asleep at the kitchen table, schematics scattered around him, a pencil still in his hand. He's wearing a tank top and shorts, a sweater half on and sliding off his arms.

Kei looks at the microwave clock and groans.

Three in the morning is a hell of a time to start the day.

Might as well wake Tobio up.

Kei has poor circulation, his hands should be freezing at this point despite the hot water he used to wash them, and he keeps that in mind when he clamps his hands down on Tobio's bare shoulders and shakes him.

As expected, Tobio falls out of his chair, the pencil flying out of his hand and skittering across the floor.

"Fuck!" Tobio shouts when he hits the ground, sleep still in his eyes, body stiff as Kei helps him to his feet a moment later.

"Morning," Kei says.

Tobio looks to the microwave and groans, leaning against Kei with a huff.

"I coulda' still been asleep, you know?" he mumbles, wrapping his arms around Kei's waist.

"At the table though? Can't be comfortable."

"I was _asleep_ , damn you."

"Yeah, yeah, eat something with me, then we'll go to bed."

Tobio keeps grumbling, but he doesn't let go of Kei.

Given that they're both groggy, Kei doesn't have the wherewithal to do anything other than reheat leftovers. Tobio stays on him, slowing him down some and, at one point, Kei's fairly certain that he's fallen asleep standing up.

It takes far too long but they eventually find themselves at the table, lukewarm food before them. Kei doesn't realize just how hungry he is until he takes his first bite, practically inhaling the rest of it in a matter of minutes.

"Went well then?" Tobio asks.

"It's almost done."

"You need to pace yourself."

"I'm known for fitting tight deadlines, somebody's got to do it."

Tobio rolls his eyes but doesn't say anything else for a while.

"How about you?" Kei asks, scanning the schematics on the table. "Finish okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, not as bad as the last one, shouldn't be too difficult."

Tobio's last job had been something of a nightmare, faulty intelligence on the other end landed him bruised and more than a little injured. He'd completed the job, of course, but was laid up in bed until recently. Kei's not fond of working with contractors he's never met, Tobio, when not working with his team, sometimes doesn't know who his contractor is. It's dangerous, and Kei's told him before that he needs to be more careful about the jobs he accepts when he goes solo. He knows Tobio's a professional, they all are, but just because they've got the experience doesn't mean they're infallible.

"That's good to hear. You double checked?"

"Got the schematics myself, did some recon while you were holed up, reached out to Kiyoko, touched base with everyone else. It's fine."

Kei nods, pushing himself to stand up and take their dishes to the sink.

"Can I see it?" Tobio asks as they pass the studio.

Kei doesn't bother with an answer, just pushes open the door. There's enough light from the hallway but Tobio flips on the lightswitch anyway.

He's never understood why Tobio likes his work, it's all replication, imitation, it's not like he's created something new. It's a good skill, he'll admit as much, but it's not like he could turn this into an upstanding career.

Tobio crouches down in front of the canvas, lips pursed and brow furrowed in thought, he takes a good ten minutes looking over the canvas. In that time, Kei takes stock of his wellbeing.

Perhaps he shouldn't have woken Tobio up, exhaustion practically drips off of him, he's swaying as he's crouched down. The shadows beneath his eyes are alarming, and his nails are bitten to the quick. His lips are bitten to hell too, bright pink and smeared red, the very center of his bottom lip barely starting to scab over.

Tobio's a mess.

Kei walks over, laying a still cold hand on Tobio's shoulder.

"Come on," he says, "to bed."

There's no response for a moment and Kei's only half sure that Tobio is still awake. After a few beats of silence, Tobio pulls himself to his feet and leans into Kei, smothering a yawn.

"You ever tried painting something new?" he asks as they shuffle to their room.

"Haven't had a reason to," Kei replies easily.

"You should try, could be fun, it'd do wonders for your grumpy mood."

Kei lets the jab slide as Tobio is practically half conscious. WIth all the grace of a drunken dog, Tobio falls face first into their bed, asleep before his head hits the pillows. Kei takes a little longer, stripping out his paint stained clothes and slipping to a pair of soft pajamas. He takes the time to brush his teeth, inspecting his reflection as he does so.

He stays out of the thick of things, so he can't boast the same scars that Tobio and his crew have. The only scar he _does_ have is one from the earlier days, back when he did the drops himself. Long story short, he'd had to make a quick get away, jumping through a broken window and practically slicing open his left hand. To this day, he thanks whatever omnipotent being watching over him that it was his left and not his right, he would have been ruined otherwise.

Kei turns off the bathroom light and goes to join Tobio. He takes the time to get Tobio situated, at least half under the covers, before taking off his glasses and climbing into bed.

The nightlight on Tobio's side of the room casts a soft orange glow, powerful enough that Kei can see Tobio's face even with the actual lights off. Kei hadn't seen fit to pry when Tobio came back from a two week job, his shoulder bandaged up and holding a shopping bag containing the single most powerful nightlight they had in stock. He had, however, called Hinata to see what happened because he knew Tobio wasn't going to say anything on his own. As it were, Tobio ended up in some kind of underground tunnel, alone in pitch black until Nishinoya could get to him.

They don't really talk about it.

He knows about Tobio's scars though, most of them are on his hands, leaving them a mess of gently massaged scar tissue. There had been a scare some time back, a possibility that some of Tobio's fingers could have locked up some but that injury had healed up nicely, leaving him with only the occasional stiffness.

Kei only manages a few hours of sleep before he's woken by incessant knocking at their door. Tobio is still completely asleep so Kei rolls out of bed to end the noise himself. He's even more bleary eyed than he had been getting into bed, nearly running into the doorframe of their room before making it into the hallway.

Kei unlocks the front door, knowing that only a handful of people would arrive at their home so early in the morning.

Hinata stands there, bright eyed and ready for the day, Yachi at his side, and Yamaguchi behind the two of them looking more than a little tired. Without a word, Kei waves them inside, moving to the kitchen to start on coffee.

"Tobio's not up yet," he says, rummaging around in the pantry.

"It's nine thirty, though," Hinata says, sitting down at the table, pulling some of Tobio's schematics toward him so he can take a look. "What time did you two go to bed last night?"

"We went to bed this morning," Kei says, bracing himself against the counter.

Yachi wanders over to give him a hug hello and Yamaguchi sits down at the table, resting his head on his arms.

"Good morning, Tsukishima," Yachi says. "Go sit, I'll finish up the coffee."

Kei doesn't have the energy to argue, so he returns Yachi's hug and goes to sit beside Yamaguchi.

"Long night for you as well?" he asks.

Yamaguchi gives an unintelligible mumble before sitting up as straight as he can.

"Yeah, finishing up a remote relay for a couple groups. Different time zones, it was fine, just long."

"Today won't be so bad," Hinata says, shuffling the papers into an organized mess of a pile. "We'll finish quick, in and out, then you can take a nap."

Yamaguchi doesn't bother with a response, just drops his head back to his arms.

The smell of coffee is what rouses Tobio from sleep, and he shuffles down the hall, eyes half closed and nearly running into the wall.

He's not entirely functional until Yachi places a mug of coffee in front of him. It's not scalding because there doesn't seem to be an adverse reaction when Tobio downs half of it in one go. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima each accept a mug before Yachi sits down. Hinata's still going over the schematics, sliding a few toward Tobio to clarify some things.

Kei doesn't contribute to the conversation, not while everyone is drifting into their element. He's content to watch and listen, action has never been his forte with these sorts of things.

Yachi takes charge of the conversation once the unclear has turned crystal. Everyone knows what they're doing, she makes them recite the plan two times over before she's satisfied. It's nothing complicated, not by comparison anyhow, a simple job if ever there was one. Besides, Kei feels better knowing that Tobio's going with his team. Too many times he's gone on his own, at least when he's with them there's a lesser chance of mayhem or arrest.

Tobio wanders off to shower and dress, leaving Kei at the table.

"Do you have time for another project?" Yamaguchi asks.

"I always do, why do you ask?"

"Potential job, not exactly small scale, but we need a few replicas."

"A _few_?"

Yamaguchi rubs at his neck.

"Yeah, that's why I'm asking ahead of time."

"If you don't have the time don't worry about it," Yachi cuts in. "We haven't accepted yet, and there's going to be a substantial amount of planning that goes into this, so there will be time."

Kei mulls it over for a minute, mentally calling up his schedule. When Yachi says 'substantial amount of planning', she usually means a few weeks time. It depends on what they need him to replicate and how many replicas he needs to make.

Regardless, it should be doable.

He says as such and Yamaguchi launches into the specifics for the twenty minutes it takes Tobio to get ready.

Tobio hugs him goodbye before following Yachi out the door. Hinata wishes him a good morning, and Yamaguchi pats his shoulder.

Kei watches them from the doorway, eyes following until the group is no longer visible.

Well, time to get to work.

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Hope you liked it


End file.
